The Wayanad MP was part of a 12-member opposition delegation who flew to Srinagar to try and take stock of the situation

New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday accused the Centre of using ‘brute force’ in the Valley, a day after a 12-member delegation of opposition leaders, of which he was a part and who flew to Srinagar to try and take stock of the situation, was stopped at the airport and sent back to the national capital.

In a tweet, the former national president of the Congress said, “It’s been 20 days since the people of Jammu & Kashmir had their freedom & civil liberties curtailed. Leaders of the Opposition & the Press got a taste of the draconian administration & brute force unleashed on the people of J&K when we tried to visit Srinagar yesterday.”

It's been 20 days since the people of Jammu & Kashmir had their freedom & civil liberties curtailed. Leaders of the Opposition & the Press got a taste of the draconian administration & brute force unleashed on the people of J&K when we tried to visit Srinagar yesterday. pic.twitter.com/PLwakJM5W5— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) August 25, 2019

On Saturday, the opposition delegation was detained at the airport and later sent back to Delhi while several journalists were manhandled by the security forces.

Rahul’s attempted visit to the city came days after his war of words with Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satyapal Malik, who had ‘invited’ the Wayanad MP to come and take stock of the situation in the Valley.

Addressing the media at Delhi airport after returning from the capital of the former state, he said that the situation there was not normal. A video also went viral of him arguing with security officials, saying that if Section-144 was in place, then he was ready to go individually.

The Valley is under security lockdown for 20 days since the government announced on August 5 that it was revoking Article 370 of the Constitution, thereby scrapping special status of Jammu and Kashmir which was further bifurcated into two separate union territories (UTs) of Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.